


Drown for me, Baby (please wake up)

by lilolilyrae



Series: Life Leans Our Way [1]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Andy | Andromache of Scythia Needs a Hug, Andy | Andromache of Scythia Regains Immortality, Andy | Andromache of Scythia and Quynh | Noriko are in love, Angst with a Happy Ending, Background Relationships, Canon-Typical Violence, Cunnilingus, Drowning, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everybody needs therapy, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Getting Back Together, Girls Kissing, Hurt/Comfort, Immortal Wives Andy | Andromache of Scythia/Quynh | Noriko, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani and Nicky | Nicolò di Genova are in Love, Kissing, Oral Sex, Porn with Feelings, Rough Oral Sex, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:28:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26486440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilolilyrae/pseuds/lilolilyrae
Summary: Andromache feels the need to do penance - Quynh won't have that.
Relationships: Andy | Andromache of Scythia/Quynh | Noriko
Series: Life Leans Our Way [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1930894
Comments: 13
Kudos: 104





	Drown for me, Baby (please wake up)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [If Only Life Would Lean Our Way](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25485172) by [jessikast](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessikast/pseuds/jessikast). 



> After all the fucked up shit I wrote last night, I desperately needed some hurt/comfort.  
> Not that this. isn't fucked up. And it turned really angsty too in some parts? But it does have a happy ending, so there xD
> 
> Can be seen as a continuation of the fic it's inspired by, can also be read as a standalone!

When Quynh breaks free from her rusty cage and fights her way out of the depth of the ocean, she is consumed by burning rage and hatred, feeling left alone, forgotten, betrayed by Andromache, now that she can feel again at all.

Why did her love let her go?

Why did she leave her to drown?

At the surface of the sea, she simply drifts for a while, breathing again, sleeping again, glad to be free, alive and alone.

She dreams of a man and a woman, first they are together, later apart.

New immortals? She barely cares. Sometimes, she glimpses Andromache's face next to theirs and tries to focus on literally anything else.

The nights she doesn't dream are a relief to her, even if they sometimes end with her drowning again.

When Quynh reaches the shore, she forces herself to focus, to stop drifting in and out of consciousness.

She has a revenge to plan, after all.

Now, she barely sleeps, simply letting her body heal from the exhaustion. She doesn't want to let her guard down in that way, not when surrounded by a world she doesn't understand, by people who could put her in a cage again.

Still, she remembers the man and woman from her dreams, and sets out to find them. 

They will lead her to the others- to _Andromache_.

When she finds le Livre, weeks have passed in which she has somewhat learned to understand this new version of English and how to navigate the modern world.

It still feels alien to her, these straight streets and blinking lights and the _noise_ , so much noise everywhere- but she has always been nothing but adaptable. 

Her mind has cooled, yet she is still set on revenge.

What the man tells her shakes her to the core.

A _mortal_ Andromache? 

Merely a human lifetime left with her? 

And she still goes on missions, risking her own life even further?

Quynh no longer wants to drown her, but she would very much like to strangle Andromache for her stupidity, if only the other were able to survive that.

Booker only wants to tell her of the team's location when she promises not to hurt Andromache. 

It's an easy promise to make.

Not just because she doesn't want to kill her when Andromache wouldn't wake from it, but also- 

Andromache clearly couldn't have found her as a mortal. 

Of course she was immortal for long enough before that, but really- now that Quynh has taken a moment to breathe, to think about it, she sees how impossible the task still would have been.

The hate and blame she had placed on the other woman wither away under the fear and pain she now feels for her.

It wasn't Andromache's fault.

She just wants to see her again.

As she leaves Booker's flat, she is hit with sudden force by a memory, one of the many dreams she has had of him and the woman she now knows is called Nile: Andromache, shot in the stomach, and it didn't stop bleeding.

_It didn't stop bleeding._

Why did she not realise it sooner? How was it not obvious to her? Had the madness taken her so far away that she was unable to recognise the truth, or had she simply not wanted to see it?

Had she known, she would not have wasted a single second of her life on land with plans of revenge, she would have tried to seek out Andromache immediately.

Such precious time with her, forever lost.

How has she ever entertained the notion of killing Andromache at all? She had already _known_ that they didn't really live forever.

Why had they, in the past, still killed each other in practice battles, sometimes even in bed, when they knew that it might be the last time?

She wants to scream in frustration and puts her energy in reaching Andromache as quickly as possible instead.

A few days later- how small the world has become!- Quynh catches up with the others while they are in the middle of a mission.

On the one hand, she wants to immediately run up to her when she sees her, not waste a moment of the time they have left, but on the other, she doesn't want to distract Andromache from her mission. 

She couldn't bear to share the blame of her death.

So instead, she stays in the shadows behind her love, huddled over closets and hidden in air vents, ready to strike at anyone who comes too close to her or tries to take her out from behind...

But this century's weapon possess a speed she isn't used to.

A bullet hits Andromache's back.

She turns around, taking out the men who have come through the door before she collapses to the floor.

Quynh wants to run up to Andromache and look into her dying eyes, yet she doesn't move.

She wants to scream, wail- Andromache!

_Andromache, Andromache, Andromache!_

All that happens is a keening sound of pain coming out of her throat, barely audible over Andromache choking on her own blood...

Quynh has just drawn herself up to move down to Andromache when the doors opens again.

Nicolo, Yusuf and the stranger burst in, freezing at the sight of Andromache bleeding out on the floor.

In the same moment, Andromache draws a last rattling breath before her eyes roll back inside her head and her limbs stop twitching.

Quynh feels like she can't breathe. She has spent centuries under water, but her lungs have never felt as constricted as they do now.

In a detached sort of way, she watches Yusuf, Nicolo and the woman kneel down next to Andromache.

Then she notices that they do not seem to be grieving like her.

Air rushes back into her lungs, and she has to bite back a gasp so as not to give away her position.

Did Booker lie?

Is Andromache not mortal at all?

But no, she remembers her dream. There is no way that had been faked. And really, Andromache's team is looking much too anxious. More so than they normally do when someone dies. Quynh has seen Nicolo get shot several times today and even Yusuf hadn't looked as fearful as he does now.

_What is going on?_

Then, Andromache gasps, eyes snapping open.

All of a sudden, Quynh is feeling incredibly dizzy.

Like waking from a particularly bad nightmare, the kind that leaves you breathless and questioning reality for longer than you're willing to admit.

Yusuf helps Andromache up from the floor, and the fact that she lets him instead of batting away his hand is enough to tell Quynh that something must really be wrong, even though she can barely make herself worry over the elation she still feels at the fact that Andromache is _alive!_

The team disappears from the scene of the crime, and Quynh is left alone to make her way out.

One of the men on the floor twitches- or maybe that's just wishful thinking. Quynh'a knife embeds itself in his forehead either way.

In the following night, Quynh sneaks up to Andromache's hiding place.

A house, sturdier than any house used to be in this country the last time she visited it, yet nothing compared to a cave or a stone building.

A window opens easily for her, and she is completely silent as she searches for Andromache.

Her room isn't hard to find- the one in the corner, with two windows to escape from and enough time to take out opponents if they make it into the hallway.

Andromache's habits haven't changed much.

Quynh opens the door to find her love asleep.

She looks beautiful this way, soft and innocent when the lines of life, worry and pain aren't so prominently etched into her skin.

Quynh breathes easier now that she has seen her alive and well. She is still unsure whether or not she should show herself, however. She is so broken right now, anything but good company. If Andromache is immortal again, they still have time... Time for herself to heal before she let's her know that she is back.

In that moment, Andromache wakes. Whether because of the change in the air when Quynh stepped through the doorway, whether she heard her breathing or just felt herself being watched, Quynh doesn't know.

She doesn't move, doesn't breathe. Quynh has always been the only one able to sneak up on Andromache, and she still expects to find a blade to her neck in a moments time-

Instead, Andromache breathes in- and freezes.

 _"Is this a dream?"_ she whispers, sounding so _broken_ \- "Quynh, are you there?"

She must have _smelled_ her. Quynh remembers Andromache identifying her by touch, smell, her walk, her sillhouette, her fighting stlye and the way she breathed. She hadn't expected her to still be able to do so.

" _Quynh?_ " her name sounds far too close to a sob on Andromache's lips, and Quynh really can't leave her this way. She might be bad company, but she can hold her close.

"Andromache" she whispers, stepping out of the shadow.

Instead of looking relieved that she hasn't just imagined her presence, Andromache stares at her- and starts to cry.

Shocked, Quynh steps forward, settling herself at the foot of the bed (way too soft, it barely feels like a bed at all), gathering Andromache in her arms.

Goodness, she never believed in any god, but it feels heavenly to touch her love again.

"Is this a dream?" Andromache repeats in a daze when Quynh pulls her close. 

"No, I am here, I am here" Quynh whispers into her skin, over and over.

Just when she thinks Andromache has finally calmed down enough and moves to draw back from the embrace, the other woman keens, wounded, and starts to cling to her- before moving back in a manner Quynh can only describe as _dejected_.

"...Andromache?"

"Please" Andromache whispers, not raising her head, not looking into her eyes. "Please- before- Let me- let me touch you, smell you, please, before you kill me-"

Quynh looks at her, disturbed. _What?_

"Andromache. My one, I will never harm you again." she whispers. And then, because apparently it's necessary: "Yes, you may touch me."

It's like a dam breaks, and Andromache's hands are all over her, her lips pressing against her hair, her cheek, her neck...

Quynh turns her head and then they are kissing, someone makes a pained sound and Quynh can't be sure whether it was herself or her lover. Her tongue slips past Andromache's lips that open in invitation, she sucks on Quynh's tongue hungrily, greedily, her hand tangling in her hair. Quynh wants to push her onto the bed and take her, make her _hers_ again, when she notices that Andromache is still crying, her cheek wet against her own, and she breaks the kiss instead.

Andromache lets her head sink onto her shoulder, kissing her way down, not letting go of her as if afraid she's going to disappear any second now.

"I missed you" Quynh whispers, kissing Andromache's head when the other burrows into her chest, just breathing her in.

"I know, I'm sorry, I know, I missed you so much, I'm sorry..." Andromache mumbles like a mantra.

"Why do you keep saying that you are sorry?"

Andromache looks up at her through tear-swollen eyes, staring at Quynh like _she's_ the insane one for asking that question.

"I left you. I just stopped looking, I'm so sorry-"

A few days ago, not even this apology would have swayed Quynh from taking her revenge. Now, the very idea that what had happened might have been Andromache's fault is laughable.

"It isn't your fault-"

" _I left you!_ " Andromache hisses at her. "I _promised_ we would be together, and then- and then- I should drown for five hundred years myself to make up for-"

"Are you even immortal?" Quynh interrupts her, because this is spiralling out of control and she can't think of anything better to ask. And, well, she _had_ been burning to ask that question.

Andromache winces. "I- yes, I should be- I don't think I was mortal at all. A while back... but I'm healing again now..."

She frowns, looking down, scratching a nail over her skin, hard enough to draw blood. 

"Please don't hurt yourself" Quynh says, alarmed.

Andromache imediately obeys, letting go of her wrist.

While Quynh really didn't want to watch her harm herself any further, this version of Andromache is almost _too_ obedient to be real...

"...Are you just going to be my slave for the next fivehundred years if I won't let you kill yourself in penance?"

"If that's what you-" the look in Andromache's eyes is haunted, somehow _wild_ and _dead_ at the same time. 

"NO its-" Quynh almost shouts, then continues in a quieter voice so as to not wake the others- "no it's not! Come on-" she gets up, pulling Andromache with her, decision suddenly made.

She remembers having seen a lake on the map not all too far from the safe house- it's not the sea, but it'll do.

Andromache will survive one more death.

She'll have to.

They sneak out, moving silently and perfectly in synch with each other. 

Andromache follows her without question, without demanding answers, and Quynh hopes beyond hope that this will snap her out of it, make her feel a little less guilty and deserving of punishment.

She wants her Andromache back, the one who argues and wants to know every detail of a plan, who thinks she has the best ideas even if everyone else is against her, who will listen to Quynh more than anyone else and still give her own input to make their decisions perfect, who will fight dirty, pull hair, bring an axe to a knife fight and bite, always have a twinkle of mischief in her eyes, laugh loudly and full of life.

When they reach the shore of the lake, Andromache looks at Quynh in question. She just starts getting out of her clothes in lieu of an answer. Andromache does the same.

When Quynh looks at the large body of water in front of her, she has to suppress a shiver. It's not the sea, but it is way too similar to it for comfort.

She shakes her head to herself. No going back now. And there is no way she is going to avoid every lake for the rest of eternity, so really getting through with it now will be hitting two birds with one stone. 

Once they are in the deep water, Quynh turns to face Andromache. The other already knows what is to come, but Quynh tells her anyway.

"Drown for me."

Andromache dives under water without breathing in again.

She opens her mouth to let in the water- her reflexes make her swim back to the surface when she chokes, and for a moment Quynh thinks she won't be able to go through with it. 

Then Andromache dives to the bottom of the lake- it can't be that deep, but in the darkness she can't see down to her anymore.

Air bubbles reach the surface next to her.

Quynh looks away, feeling tears in her eyes.

Then everything is silent, and, taking a deep breath, Quynh dives down to pull Andromache to the surface.

When she comes to, gasping in the cold air, Quynh feels too relieved to let her go from her embrace.

Andromache let's out a sob, burrowing her nose in Quynh's shoulder for a moment before drawing back.

"Again?"

Quynh shakes her head, holding her close. "No, my love. I will not let you drown again. I will not ever kill you again at all, once was too many already, worrying whether or not you would wake up, whether this would be your last death..."

"I told you, I was never really mortal."

"So?" Quynh asks. "Lykon was. You, any of us could still become it. You have drowned for me, you have done your penance. And I still think it wasn't necessary for you to have any punishment at all. I will not be the reason for your death, Andromache, and I would much prefer it if nothing would ever lead to your true death at all."

She knows, of course, that Andromache is and always will be a soldier- she is the same, after all- so she continues: "I know I can't keep you from your vocation-" seeing Andromache honestly consider that as a punishment, she groans. "Don't. Stop it with the self-flagellation. And let's get out of the water, the cold is starting to remind me of the Sea."

That is enough to get Andromache moving.

They end up on the muddy beach, gazing into each others eyes as they lie next to each other.

In the moonlight, Quynh is tracing Andromache's features with the back of her hand before resting her palm on her chest, on the pendant of her necklace.

"You kept it, after all this time."

Andromache turns her head away to look up at the sky, shaking her head. "It broke, many years ago, and I lost it in a battle. I re-made this one from memory- it's the third copy, now." 

Quynh can only stare. "Why- why didn't you just let it be, after you lost it the first time?"

"Why on earth would I have done that? It's- it was the only thing of you that I _had!_ Of course I- _mpfh!_ "

Quynh is on top of her and kissing her breathless before Andromache can finish the sentence.

Andromache's hands end up on her ass and the small of her back, and Quynh doesn't care one bit that she is probably dragging mud along her body, too. They'll just have to jump in the lake again after this, which doesn't seem so daunting an idea anymore, either.

Then Andromache does a thing with her _tongue_ and Quynh is reduced to pure instinct, living in the sensation.

Her hands wander over Andromache's cheek, her neck, her breasts- she breaks from the kiss then to move down and mouth at her nipples instead, less-than-gently biting and sucking at the inside of her breasts when moving from one side to the other, hoping to leave marks even if they are only going to last for a moment.

In turn, Andromache starts squeezing her ass and thighs, and suddenly she feels herself being flipped around, Andromache grinning down at her in triumph- Quynh has to laugh, and then she moans when Andromache moves down her body and starts licking into her without warning. 

Andromache fucks her with her tongue until Quynh is screaming for release, her hands on Andromache's head, pressing her closer- only then does she move to where Quynh really needs her, sucking and licking at her clit, reducing her to moans and whimpers and broken cries of " _Andromache!_ "

She feels herself getting closer, and knows Andromache does too when she speeds up, just licking the same bundle of nerves over and over again- " _Aah!_ " Quynh shouts, pressing herself impossibly close against Andromache, possibly tearing out hair from her head as she jerks when Andromache keeps licking her through the aftershocks.

When she has regained enough sense to see something besides blinking stars, Andromache is laying on top of her, a smug, confident grin on her lips, and it is such a beautiful, _beautiful_ sight Quynh can't help kissing it right off her lips.

Then, she grabs Andromache's thighs to push her up, making her move and sit on her face. She remembers how much Andromache loves this, to ride her, and she loves it too, loves how Andromache's breasts gleam in the pale light of the moon and how she sits on her just a little too harshly, just bordering on painful when Quynh licks into her in a way she likes.

She loves every second of it now, especially, because it means that Andromache is ready to take something for herself again, that she is done doing penance, that she has just worshiped Quynh's body because she wanted to, not because she thought that she needs to, and is now ready for Quynh to do the same for her.

Quynh places her hands on Andromache's ass and presses her down even harder, nipping at Andromache's folds, sucking at her clit with more pressure than she would have dared had the other woman really been mortal. Andromache howls, head thrown back, hands bent into claws and dragging through the dirt as she comes on Quynh's lips, on Quynh's tongue.

When she can hear Andromache whimper in overstimulation, Quynh presses a last gentle kiss to her sweet spot before helping her move.

Panting, Andromache sits down on her chest before unceremoniously and rather inelegantly flopping over to lie next to her again.

With a chuckle, Quynh takes her hand in hers.

Andromache looks over, smiling at her with the sparkle in her eyes Quynh had so missed.

"Let's go home?"

She nods, lets Andromache pull her to her feet, arm slung around her hips.

The both of them are still broken, but they are also healing, and as long as they are together, she knows that they are going to be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> Nice comments always make me smile :)
> 
> Don't fuck in the mud, kids, it's unhygienic and if you aren't literally imortal therefore a Bad Idea. Also use protection unless you got tested together.
> 
> Before you get me for depicting Andromache's reaction as too extreme: excUse you, Andromache is a broken bitch TM, she just died for the first time after she thought she turned mortal And then her long lost love turns up again?? I had anxiety attack induced insanity for less...  
> Quynh, on the other hand, is over the initial shock of what she has been through. She still obviously needs to work through things, but she can think somewhat clearly again.  
> And, like. I really like making Andromache cry in Quynh's arms for some reason xD something about the stoic immortal warrior finally letting her guard down with her beloved is really doing it for me... and I mean come on, seeing your wife again after five hundred years would do that to a person, right? That's where her not believing that Quynh is really there comes in, too :)
> 
> re: why Quynh only dreamt of Booker and Nile when she made her way to the surface: I don't think she could have stayed alive for long enough under water to fall asleep, so I don't think she would have dreamt at all.
> 
> Might turn this into a series and write something from Andy's or the team's POV, leave a comment if you want me to let you know when I post it!


End file.
